Thorniewood United boss Jamie Nesbitt has told his players to enjoy life in the West of Scotland League First Division – because they’ve earned it.
The Viewpark club won their place in the second tier of the West of Scotland set-up, thanks to their finish in last season’s Conference B, and Nesbitt says that shows how far they have come in recent years.
Thorniewood kick off their league campaign at home to Blantyre Vics on Saturday, and Nesbitt wants them to give it their best shot in the division.
He said: “Everything we’ve done is with a plan of going into that Championship.
“It’s a big opportunity for the lads. I tell them every Saturday it’s 11 v 11, it doesn’t matter who it was you were playing against.
“Going from the Second Division into those Conferences and taking one of those places, it just goes to show how you are on the day, and your attitude towards it.
“Hopefully we’ll make a good account of ourselves at that level.
“We’ll have the smallest budget, or one of the smallest, at that level, but the lads are there on merit, so they deserve to go and have a go at it and prove themselves.
“Everybody’s looking forward to some big away crowds and some nice away days to some nice grounds, so we’ll give it our best shot. I’ve just asked them to give it their all every week, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.
“We created a couple of shocks last season, so we’ll see how it goes.”
The ‘Wood are facing a Vics side who were relegated from the top flight last term, but Nesbitt says he is focusing on his own side ahead of the clash.
He added: “I’ve not seen much of Blantyre’s signings or anything like that, and I’ve not watched them.
“We played them last season in the cup, but I’m expecting a bit of a changed team from then.
“But we’ll just be looking to go in and compete as best we can. That’s all we can ask for.”
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